


Because of a dare

by Canon_Is_Relative



Category: Star Trek: Alternate Original Series (Movies)
Genre: Angst, Daddy Issues, Fix-It, M/M, Mommy Issues, Teasers & Trailers, only posting cuz I wrote it before the movie so I want a record of its existence
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-21
Updated: 2016-07-21
Packaged: 2018-07-25 19:03:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 596
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7544266
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Canon_Is_Relative/pseuds/Canon_Is_Relative
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>SO STAR TREK IS TOMORROW and I'm gonna die. But before I do I thought I'd post this for posterity. Because, okay, yes, Chris Hemsworth is dreamy and Thor is awesome and he's in Ghostbusters but REALLY?!? Winona has been alive this whole time and no one mentions her and Kirk fucking almost destroyed the planet when his surrogate daddy was killed and yet we're still fixated on Kirk's biodad issues? ... That's what i took from the preview anyway maybe I'm wrong. But the point is I took that (omg hot as hell can't wait to see it on the big screen) scene from the trailer between him and Bones and fixed it.</p><p>ETA: I've now seen Beyond twice and I can say that this scene as it plays out in the movie absolutely does not need fixing, it was lovely. But I still like this little tidbit of mine :)</p>
            </blockquote>





	Because of a dare

“So,” Bones claimed one drink and slid the other across the table, imitating the reporter's accent. “Tell us all about your ‘family legacy,’ don’t spare the details.”

Jim rolled his eyes, slumping down in the booth and reaching for his drink. “You know, I’d almost forgotten what it was like, here on Earth. The politics and the people-pleasing.”

“Well, cheers to your specialty,” Bones lifted his glass.

“Fuck you,” Jim said, amiable, and drank deep. Then he set his glass down, nearly sloshing it. “I’m just so sick of. Fuck. You know.”

“Do I?”

“That stupid question, that, what do they want me to say? The truth, right, well, okay, the truth is none of yours so fuck right off? Ugh," Jim leaned forward, rubbing his temples. "My father joined Starfleet because he believed in it, that’s what my mother always said." He finally looked up at Bones. He spoke without inflection, like the words were old news, canned truth. And then he looked down at his hands. "But Mom? Well. Hell if I know why she joined.”

“She didn’t believe in it?”

“She never said. You know, not once, all my life, did she ever tell me anything about herself. I asked, God, did I ask. About Dad, Starfleet, whatever. Anything and everything, I had a question and she had an answer but she never told me about herself.” Jim took a drink, rolled the glass between his palms. “So in the end I joined because of a dare.”

“You wanted to see if you could live up to him.”

“Jesus, Bones, will you let it go?” Jim glared at Bones, held his gaze for a moment then swallowed off the rest of his drink. “It was what he said, not who he was, enough with this love at first sight crap.”

“I’m not saying—“

“No, exactly, that’s right. You’re not saying. And everyone else is not-saying. I’m sick of people pinning me up on his lapels, you know? I’m not Pike, I’m not his protege, I didn’t even know him particularly well.”

“You went to war because of him,” Bones said, all casual, not even looking at him.

The silence lasted, lingered, stretched on like a waiter hovering to take your order before you’ve even looked at the menu. Jim kept glancing up, over his shoulder, down into his drink, until Bones reached out and swapped Jim’s empty glass for his mostly-full one.

“Yeah, well.” Jim tipped his glass at Bones in salute, and drained it dry. “He was a man worth fighting for, so what was I supposed to do?”

“Exactly what you did, I suppose.”

Jim leaned back in his seat. “Says the man who had to pull me out of the grave.”

“Says the man who had to watch you fucking die.”

“Yeah. Yeah, sorry about that.”

“You’re not sorry.”

“I’m really not.”

Bones snorted, leaned back to mirror Jim, eyes darting all over his face before flagging down a server and ordering another round.

“Take the job,” Bones leaned across the table. “Take the assignment. Take _Enterprise_ out there. Jim, if you don’t, you’ll…” He shook his head. “You’re acting like an old man. Taking that bucket of bolts out beyond the stars is your first, best destiny. So stop second guessing yourself. It’s getting old.”

Their drinks materialized in front of them, and Jim lifted his glass to Bones. Bones lifted his eyebrow to Jim, followed by his glass.

“Final Frontier, eh?”

“All right, Shakespeare,” Bones rolled his eyes. "Whatever keeps you flying." Jim laughed, they toasted, and drank.


End file.
